An Empirical Investigation of Build-or-Buy Decisions in Software Development

When an organization seeks to apply a computerbased application to its business processes, the decision of whether to build or buy software must typically be made. Much previous research has bypassed the build-or-buy decision stage. Even the limited studies focusing on the build-or-buy decision have tended to focus on checklists or guidelines for decision criteria and decision procedures. Thus, the build-or-buy decision process has not been explored fully from the behavioral perspective. The present research provides new insights into decision makers’ actual behavior when making build-or-buy decisions. Based on the belief processing model of Smith, Benson, and Curley (1991), a model is developed to describe the actual cognitive processes involved in the build-or-buy decision. Two hypotheses based on the theoretical background are proposed and will be investigated in an empirical study. We then describe the research methods for the empirical study in some detail. We conclude with a short discussion

Trust for E-Business Management

How do we develop and sustain trust? What is the process for building trust between business partners in virtual environments? Is there a significant difference between the development and sustainability of trust online or offline? In this paper, we first introduce the concept of e-business and discuss the importance of trust for ensuring effective collaboration. Secondly, we discuss the relationships between e-collaboration and trust for managing e-business. Thirdly, we suggest a framework, which may help facilitate the development and sustainability of trust in an online environment. Finally, implications for the development and sustainability of trust online, which can be used to understand the interplay among technologies, e-business and collaboration is provided. We suggest that the implications of this study are three-fold: trustworthy relationships among business partners, effective sustainable collaboration, and optimal use of ICT for supporting e-business activities

An Empirical Study to Understand the Role of Institution-Based Trust and Its Antecedents in IoT Adoption by Individuals

ABSTRACT The Internet of Things (IoT) enables the connection between humans, physical objects, and cyber objects, resulting in monitoring, automation, and decision-making capabilities. This connection can be complex and lead to uncertainty for individuals before adopting IoT technology. To address this, we conducted research on the role of Institution-based trust in the context of IoT adoption. Our model for IoT adoption is based on existing literature and includes the components of Institution-based trust and its antecedents. Through empirical testing, we confirmed that Institution-based trust positively affects IoT adoption at the individual level. Additionally, we found that User confirmation/disconfirmation and familiarity are the antecedents of Institution-based trust. Keywords: Internet of Things (IoT), Trust, Technology Adoption, Institution-based trus

Customer Relations Management in Information Systems Research

Customer Relations Management (CRM) involves attracting and keeping “Economically Valuable” customers while repelling and eliminating “Economically Invaluable” ones. CRM involves changing relationships and improving return-on-investment from customer relationships (ROI-CR.) We are experiencing a shift from a transaction-based economy to a relationship-based one (Keen 1999.) Two important business relationship types exist: those between enterprises and customers; and those between and among enterprises (Kalakota 1996.) This paper addresses the former. However, a there is a significant amount of research into traditional “Market Channels” (See (Bowersox 1990; Ganesan 1994; Syed Saad 1996; Cannon 1999; Geyskens 1999) for examples) as well as into eCommerce (EC) Market Channels (See (Kim 1999; Menon 1999; Son 1999)) Recent and upcoming scholarship and professional activities illustrate the importance the IS Research Community places on CRM. This paper presents a framework for IS CRM Research Topics, a discussion of IS CRM scholarly and professional research directions and activities

Social Credibility: Trust Formation in Social Commerce

Trust formation in informal social commerce, also considered lateral exchange markets (LEMs) on social media platforms, has different dynamics from e-commerce and traditional consumerto‐ consumer (C2C) exchange. These online markets are massive in scale; thus, it is an important phenomenon in consumer research. With a holistic perspective, we conducted in-depth interviews with Instagram consumers and sellers. Our research is among the first to reveal an empirical understanding of the critical dynamics of trust formation in LEMs within social commerce and contribute to theory by introducing a novel dimension termed social credibility. Social credibility surpasses the source credibility evaluations one step further from assessing the source itself to assess the credibility of the individuals who contribute to the source\u27s reputation, such as reviewers, followers, and customers. Thus, we define social credibility as customers’ assessments of LEM sellers’ credibility through perceived homophily with other reviewers, followers, and customers

The Role of Trust in Rumor Suppression on Social Media: A Multi-Method Approach Applying the Trust Scores in Social Media (TSM) Algorithm

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. August 2019. Major: Mass Communication. Advisor: Jisu Huh. 1 computer file (PDF); viii, 196 pages.Commercial rumor about an organization or brand, especially on social media, presents a special challenge for marketers and communication practitioners because of the fast flow and exchange of information among peers. Despite the importance of refuting rumors quickly and effectively, research on the effects and effectiveness of refuting rumor messages has been limited. To advance the literature in this emerging research area, the current project examines the impact of an interpersonal relational factor on the dissemination and effectiveness of rumor-refutation communication. The role of interpersonal relational factors is particularly important given that rumors spread through word-of-mouth (WOM) communication. Rumor-refutation communication should also utilize the same communication conduit for rapid and effective refutation. To advance rumor-refutation research and address the rising problem of commercial rumors, this dissertation project aimed to examine 1) how interpersonal influence among peers affects the belief and retransmission of rumors and rumor-refutation messages, and 2) potentially influential message characteristics that could help enhance interpersonal influence on readers’ belief of the rumors and rumor refutation messages, and the retransmission of rumor-refutation messages. To achieve these research goals, this study adopted a multi-method approach. Study 1 is a between-subjects repeated-measures experiment with a 2 (high-trustworthy vs. low-trustworthy source) x 2 (presence vs. absence of a trust cue) design that examines how the trustworthiness of the message source and a trust cue designed to induce message trustworthiness affect the belief and retransmission intention of rumors and rumor-refutation messages. Study 2 utilizes a computational research approach using the Trust Scores in Social Media (TSM) algorithm to test how mathematically captured trustworthiness scores of the sources of rumor-refutation messages influence actual message retransmission and how such an effect is moderated by the presence of trust cues included in the messages. The key findings in Study 1 revealed that a high-trustworthy source compared to a low-trustworthy source led to higher levels of rumor-refutation message belief and retransmission intention, but source trustworthiness did not affect the extent of reduction in the rumor belief and retransmission intention. Inclusion of a trust cue also did not moderate the impact of source trustworthiness on the belief and retransmission intention for both the rumor and rumor-refutation messages. Instead, it showed main effects in increasing the rumor-refutation message belief and retransmission intention, and a decreasing rumor belief and retransmission intention. The findings in Study 2 further confirmed the effects of the trustworthiness of the source on rumor-refutation message retransmission. However, inclusion of trust cues did not augment the source trustworthiness effects. The results indicated that the influence of source trustworthiness was stronger when the rumor-refutation message had no embedded trust cue. This study advances the rumor and electronic word-of-mouth research field by revealing how interpersonal influence among peer social media users can contribute to the effects and effectiveness of rumor-suppression communication. The findings also offer useful practical implications for identifying effective rumor-refutation dissemination hubs and refutation message-crafting strategies for a successful rumor-suppression campaign

Determinants and consequences of trust in online environment

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-214).The fundamental role of trust in numerous business transactions, and especially in customer relationship management, has been widely acknowledged by both industry and academia. The establishment of trust is a necessary condition for the long-term success of any business enterprise. This is particularly true in the Internet environment, where rapid technological advances accompany the rise and fall of many companies in a relatively short period of time. Previous studies have emphasized the significance of trust in Internet strategies; virtual experiences created by online systems eliminate or minimize face-to-face contact, but human trust is still essential for the experience to be effective. However, while the importance of trust in online environments is recognized, the determinants and consequences of customer trust have not been systematically investigated across a variety of industries, particularly in B2C context. This research is designed to investigate consumer perceptions of trust and the role of trust in consumer behavior in e-Business environments. It examines the following key research questions: What exactly is online customer trust? How is online trust different from offline trust? How does online trust affect customer behavior on a website? What are the antecedents and consequences of online trust? To address these questions, a model is developed that links consumer perceptions of website characteristics to perceptions of overall trust in a website, and perceptions of trust to consumer behavior related to the website. The proposed model identifies a number of factors that drive online trust, shows how website cues and online trust shape customer decision process, and identifies special role of online trust as a mediator in the link between website characteristics and consumer behavior. A large-scale empirical study is presented that applies this model across a variety of websites in various industries, using a structural equation modeling approach (LISREL), coupled with application of moderator/mediator analysis techniques. A holdout sample is utilized to test the validity of the model. Managerial implications for successful Internet strategies, incorporating appropriate usage of different website trust cues for different categories of customers, are presented.by Yakov Bart.S.M

An information framework for merchant trust in electronic commerce (Business to Consumer Segment)

The primary purpose of this research is to investigate the information requirements that need to be available on merchants' websites. This information is important to facilitate the establishment of initial trust from potential consumers towards the owners of electronic commerce (EC) websites. This study is important due to the nature of EC itself where EC is a non face-to-face businessarrangement. EC is still yet to be widely accepted and trusted by consumers.This thesis is intended to develop an information framework for creating trust from consumers to merchants referred to as a Merchant Trust Information Framework. This framework can help both parties involved in establishing trust during EC transactions. Merchants can use this framework to decide what information needs to be present on their websites in order to help consumers establish trust while consumers can use this information framework to evaluate the trustworthiness of merchants before they decide to continue with their EC transactions. In addition, a prototype was created to test the proposed information framework in a real EC setting.The proposed information framework consists of information regarding existence, affiliation, policy and fulfillment. The result of the study confirmed the importance and need for this information in the information framework. However,the creation of merchant trust does not only depend on the information framework being suggested but it also depends on other factors such as the technology used in the websites, the design of the websites as well as other external factors and previous online transactions between consumers and merchants.To make this process more usable, a prototype system for information extraction and retrieval was developed to help customers find the related information for the merchant trust framework. This information is directly extracted from merchants' websites when available in textual format. Further refinement of the system should turn it into a personal shopping assistant to help consumers find important information about merchant trust creation in an online shopping environment